Best Friends Forever
by lollipop313
Summary: Misao and Aoshi are best friends..Misao gets an arranged marriage, but runs away before she goes through with it...Aoshi runs with her...AoshiMisao...rated 4 future chapters...
1. Default Chapter

Sorry if this is a little rushed and bad, it's my first. I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, but I give my compliments to the person who does.  
  
Best Friends Forever  
  
Chapter 1  
  
"Married! To whom? When? Why? How long?" Misao yelled frantically at her parents, demanding answers. She was 17 years old, and her parents had just told her she was betrothed to someone!  
"You have been betrothed to him all your life. His name is Himura Kenshin. The wedding will be in a month." Her father told her standing up in the process. He walked over to her and clasped her hands, holding them tightly. It was around 7:00 at night and she could see the sun setting in the horizon.  
"The Himura's are wonderful people who have been great friends of your mother and I for many years, even before you were born." She wrenched her hands away and fled the room, tears streaming down her face. She heard her father calling her, but ignored him as she ran down the hall and out the front door.  
She kept running, not paying attention to where she was going, until she was jerked back by someone yanking on her shirt. She spun around.  
"Aoshi!" She wrapped her arms as far as they would go around her best friend and broke down, sobbing. She sank to the sidewalk, taking him with her. After a few minutes he scooped her up, one arm going under her back and the other under her knees. Hers went around his neck.  
He took her to his house and up to his room, closing the door and setting her on the bed. He kneeled in front of her and pushed her hair out of her eyes.  
"What's wrong, Misao?" Sniffling, she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.  
"M-my parents say I have to get married in a month! To a guy I've never even met before! I'm only 17, and I had plans for my life!"  
Aoshi listened to her until she was finished, not interrupting once. Afterward he got up and walked out the room, coming back with a wet washcloth. He sat down next to her and turned her to him, dabbing her eyes with the cloth.  
"Who is the man you are supposed to marry?"  
"Himura Kenshin."  
"Hmm." She caught his hand in hers, forcing him to stop what he was doing.  
"What do you mean, hmm? Do you know him?" He sighed and sat down next to her on the bed, facing her.  
"I've met him once or twice. He's a good friend of my cousin Soujiro's. Last time I heard he had a girlfriend, Kaoru, so I don't think he's to happy about this either." He sighed again and picked up the wet washcloth and started dabbing at her eyes again, seeing as they were all red and puffy.  
"What is he like?" Misao asked him, trying to dodge the washcloth to get a good look at her best friend. Aoshi sighed again and put the washcloth down.  
"I told you, I've only met him once or twice. I don't really know all that much about him-" He was cut off by the sound of his phone ringing. He got up and went into the hall to answer it. A few minutes later he came back into the room and knelt in front of her.  
"That was your dad. He says you can stay over here tonight, but you have to go home tomorrow. You're going to meet Himura-san tomorrow." Misao nodded and looked around. Everything was neat, as usual.  
"Do you have any clothes I can wear to sleep in?" He smiled and nodded,  
"Aa."  
He went to his closet and pulled out a large black T-shirt. Then he went to his dresser and got out a pair of boxers. He threw them at her.  
"I know how much you hate sleeping in pants." She just nodded and quickly changed out of her real clothes and into his. They were such good friends that they weren't embarrassed about changing in front of each other. She lay down on his bed and got under the covers, watching him go to the light switch.  
"Good night, Misao." He turned off the light and turned to go.  
"Aoshi?" He turned around and looked at her.  
"I really need to be comforted right now. Please stay with me!" She could see his outline coming toward her. He got on the bed and lay down beside her, on top of the covers.  
"Goodnight, Misao." He put his arm around her waist and hugged her, leaving his arm there.  
"Good night, Aoshi. Thank you." She fell asleep.  
  
I will try to make the next chapter longer!!! Please review!!! 


	2. Chapter 2

Best Friends Forever  
  
Chapter 2  
  
When Misao woke up in the morning she sat up and looked around. She got out of bed and, picking up her clothes from the night before, went to Aoshi's bathroom to take a shower. She got out of Aoshi's clothes and put them in the hamper. She turned on the shower and got in, taking a little longer then usual.  
She got out and looked underneath the sink for a towel. She straightened up, looking around her. Then she went and opened the door a crack and poked her head out.  
"AOSHI!!!" she yelled. "WHERE DID ALL THE TOWELS GO?" She waited with her head still poked out in the hallway until he came down the hall. He stood in front of her in the hallway and raised his eyebrow.  
"Could you go get me a towel please?" she asked him nicely.  
"Aa." With that he went down the hall and Misao closed the door. She sat down on the edge of the tub and waited until she heard a gentle knocking at the door. She got up and opened the door a crack, sticking her hand out and grabbing the towels. She wrapped one around her body and used the other one to dry her hair.  
She grabbed her brush that she had left there a few weeks ago and proceeded to brush her hair, pulling it back into a braid when she was finished. She put her old clothes on and opened the door, letting the steam out. She looked at herself in the fogged up mirror once more before heading to the kitchen.  
Once in the kitchen she grabbed a plate of breakfast that Aoshi had made while she was in the shower. She ate fast, putting it in the sink when she was finished. Then she went in search of Aoshi, finding him out back watering the plants.  
"I have to go. I'll call you later ok?" He nodded and went on watering. She went around the side of the house and started walking home. When she got there she went in through the front door and into the living room. What she saw froze her heart. All the memories of yesterday came back to her. She could not believe she had forgotten. Her parents were sitting in the living room, but they were not alone. With them were three people. Two red headed males and a black haired woman.  
"How nice of you to join us, Misao." Her mother said. The three guests turned around and looked at her. Misao looked at each person in the room, finally resting on her father.  
"Go to your room and change your clothes. Come back down here immediately, do you understand?" She nodded and went up to her room in a daze. She went through her room, picking out clean clothes and putting them on. Then she sat down on her bed and took ten deep breaths. When she was ready she went into the living room. Her mom came up to her and put her arms around her shoulders, dragging her in front of the guests.  
" Guests, I introduce to you my daughter, Misao." Misao forced a smile and looked at each of them. The older man was about 5'5" and looked almost like a girl. He had deep violet eyes and long red hair. Misao looked at his wife, who seemed a bit modern. The one thing that stood out was her eyes. They were amber.  
Now she looked at her fiancé. He was almost the spitting image of his father, except for one distinct facial feature. He had a large cross-shaped scar on his cheek. Misao looked away. She shook all their hands and sat down on her parents.  
The adults talked while the betrothed sat there, staring off into space. Misao glanced at Kenshin, seeing him stare at the floor. They stayed like that, each of them answering the adult's question with a nod of their head or a simple 'no'. After a while the Himuras got up to leave. Misao, wanting very badly to just stay there in her seat, got up when her mother gave her a look.  
She shook the Himuras hands as they went out the door, shaking Kenshin's hand last. She shook it as fast as she could. After they were gone she went and plopped down on the couch, picking up the remote and turning on the TV. She flipped through the channels, very much aware of her parents that were glaring at her from the entrance into the living room.  
"Misao." She glanced at her parents then wen on watching the nature show that was on. "We need to talk." She snorted and got up, going into the kitchen and getting a glass of water. Her parents followed her into the kitchen, stopping right behind her.  
"Will you PLEASE stop following me?" She glared right back at her parents.  
"You will get married to that boy, even if I have to drag you up to the alter myself. You got that?" Her father yelled. She sighed and went up the stairs to her room, grabbing her phone and started punching in Aoshi's number. She turned around and saw that her parents had followed her into her room.  
"God damnit!" She slammed the phone down and sat on her bed. Her mother sat on the bed next to her and her father stood in front of her. Her father had his hands on his hips and looked like he was very mad. She heard her mom sigh and prepared herself. "Misao. You were late! I called Aoshi's house last night and even told him to tell you that you needed to be here early!!!! Did he not tell you?!" Misao looked down at her rug. "He told me." Her father shook his head in a way that said he was mad at her, but more disappointed. "Then you had no reason to be late like that!" Misao hung her head and started crying. "I forgot! God damnit!" "How in the hell could you forget something like meeting your fiancée for the first time!" He pounded his fist on her desk. "I don't know! I don't want to get married to him! I had plans for my life! Go to college! Travel! Then all of a sudden, after 17 years, you finally tell me I'm betrothed to someone! I hate you!" She heard her mother gasp at her last words and she immediately felt bad, but not bad enough to take back what she had said. "You are grounded! Do you hear me?! Grounded!" Misao stood up, shaking with anger. "That's not fair! I didn't do anything wrong!" Her father came up to her and shook a finger in her face.  
"You are not to come out of this room. You can not call anybody. The only time you can leave this house is if it is with Kenshin." Her parents started to leave the room.  
"Until how long?!" Her father stuck his head back in the room. "Until you are married!" He slammed the door behind him. Sobs wracked her body as she flung her self on her bed. She stuffed her head into the pillow. She got under the covers and fell asleep.  
  
Plz R+R!!! This is one of my first fics ever so I'm sorry if it was horrible! OMG! I was playing with the fonts on this chapter even thought it doesn't really matter and I found something out! I can type this in Japanese!!! Lol...The next chapter shall be here soon! 


	3. Chapter 3

Best Friends Forever  
  
Chapter 3  
  
When she woke up her mother was shaking her, saying that someone was on the phone. Misao sat up and rubbed her eyes. She looked at the phone her mother was holding out to her and shook her head.  
"I'm grounded, remember?" her mother laughed and nodded.  
"It's Kenshin." Misao looked at the clock. It read 5:30 p.m. She grabbed the phone and put it to her ear.  
"Hello?" She got out of bed and headed for the door.  
"Hi Misao. It's Kenshin." She walked down the stairs.  
"Hi. What's up?" As she walked into the kitchen she wondered why he was calling.  
"Nothing. You?" She yawned and looked into the refrigerator.  
"Same here." She got out some milk and went the cupboard to get a bow of cereal. She pulled out Trix.  
"Umm... Misao? What are you doing today?" She put the milk back into the fridge and closed the door.  
"When?" She opened a drawer and took out a spoon.  
"Right now." Then she went back to the fridge, pulling out orange juice. She grabbed a cup from another cupboard and poured in the juice.  
"Nothing. Why?" She went into the dining room, leaving the orange juice on the counter.  
"I was wondering if you would like to hang out with me and some of my friends at the park. You know, get to know each other better." She sat down and thought about this.  
"Sure, why not?" She looked at her food.  
"Ok. We are going to go get something to eat first, though. Is that okay?" She looked at her food.  
"Yeah. That's ok."  
"Do you mind walking?"  
"No." She played with her fingers.  
"Ok, then. I'll be around to pick you up in 20 minutes."  
"Ok. Bye."  
"Bye." She hung up the phone and looked at her food. She picked it up and sighed, dumping it down the sink.  
"I just wasted my favorite cereal." She washed the dishes quickly, then headed up to her room to get ready. She changed her clothes and brushed her hair, re-doing it into a long braid that fell past her knees. She went downstairs when she heard the doorbell. She opened the door and walked out, yelling back to her parents.  
"I'm going to go eat and then to the park with Kenshin! I'll be back later!"  
"Okay!" She heard her mom yell back. She closed the door and smiled at Kenshin. They walked out onto the sidewalk and started walking.  
"Where are we going to eat?" she asked him. He looked at her and smiled.  
"Burger King. I hope you don't mind." She shook her head.  
"I don't mind." They continued walking, and after a while the silence became too much for Misao.  
"So. Tell me about your life, Kenshin." He sighed and glanced at her.  
"What do you want to know?" She shrugged.  
"Everything." He stuck his hands into his pockets and was silent for a moment.  
"I was born in Kyoto, in the year 1985." He paused.  
"So you are 18, right?" He nodded and continued.  
"Yes, I haven't had my birthday yet. I have lived in the same house my whole life. I am an only child. I work in a dojo. I teach kids the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu Style. I myself no a very rare style of sword fighting." He paused again.  
"What style is that?" He glanced at her again as if trying to decide whether he should tell her or not.  
"Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu." Her eyes widened. Very few people knew that style.  
"Anyway, enough about me. Tell me about your life." She sighed and looked down at the ground.  
"I was also born here, in Kyoto, in the year 1987. So that makes me 2 years younger than you." He nodded. "I, too, have lived in the same house all my life. I train at a training hall everyday." "I know the style, Kempo. My mother had a baby boy when I was 4 years old, but it only lived to the age of 5 months. Then it caught a terrible fever and died." She kept staring at the ground, not bothering to look where she was walking. "Oh. I'm sorry." Kenshin told her. She just shrugged it off. They walked in silence, Misao in deep thought. "Misao?" She jumped, having forgotten he was there. "Yes?" "We're there." She looked up and indeed, they were in front of Burger King. They walked in, Kenshin looking around for his friends. He spotted them in the corner booth and started heading towards them, Misao following silently behind him. They came up to the table and Kenshin sat down. There were 2 guys already sitting at the table. The first guy was tall and had brown hair that's tuck up all over the place. He slapped Kenshin on the back. "Kenshin! Haven't seen you in a while, buddy!" Kenshin chuckled. "We saw each other earlier today, Sano." Sano smiled. "I forgot." The other guy was around medium height and had silver-grayish hair. He shook Kenshin's hand and smiled. "Nice to see you again, Kenshin." Kenshin nodded. "Same here, Soujiro. How was your day?" "Fine." The only girl at the table had long midnight black hair that she kept in a ponytail using a ribbon. She had sapphire blue eyes. She was staring at Kenshin with adoring eyes. She tore her gaze from Kenshin and let them rest on Misao. Misao watched as the girl stood up and put out her hand. "Hi! I'm Kaoru. Sit down." Misao shook her hand and sat down next to the guy that Kenshin had called Soujiro. He smiled at her and shook her hand. "I'm Soujiro. Nice to meet you!" She smiled back. "I'm Misao." She turned to the other guy, Sano, and shook his hand too. "I'm Sano. Now what's a pretty little thing like you doing with, Kenshin here?" Misao blushed and looked at Kenshin. "Leave her alone, Sano. She's not your type." Sano smiled and laughed. Kenshin turned to Kaoru and asked her if she had eaten yet.  
"No, not yet." He smiled.  
"What would you like to eat?" Kaoru thought for a moment. "A double bacon cheeseburger with fries and a large Coke." Kenshin nodded and turned to Misao. "What would you like, Misao?" She looked at the menu, as it was visible from where she was sitting, and chose. "I'll just have a hamburger and a medium Dr. Pepper." He nodded and went up to the counter to order their food. Kaoru turned to Misao, and for a second Misao thought she saw pain in her eyes, but the next second it was gone so Misao thought she was seeing things. "So, Misao. How are you?" She smiled and Misao smiled back. "I'm fine. How are you doing?" Kaoru looked over at Kenshin for a second and looked back at Misao. "Other than some things that are going on right now, I'm fine." Kenshin came back with their food and they ate it, laughing at Sano's jokes and talking about movies. When they were finished they all got up and put their food in the trash. Then they all started to walk to the park that was a few blocks down. When they got there they went and fed the ducks by the lake. Misao was surprised that she was having a pretty good time. It was getting pretty dark and Misao guessed that it was around 7:00. "Misao?" She heard Soujiro say. She looked at him. "Your Aoshi's friend, right?" She smiled and nodded. "And you are his cousin Soujiro, right?" He nodded and she laughed. Sano looked from Misao to Soujiro and back again. "Wow. It's a small world after all." She heard him mumble. Every now and then Misao saw Kenshin and Kaoru look at each other, then look away. She could feel the love between them. "Kaoru?" She called out. Kaoru looked at her. "Yeah? Do you need something?" Misao took a big breath. She nodded. "Can I talk to you for a few seconds? Over there?" She pointed to a secluded area. Kaoru nodded and walked with Misao over there. Misao wrung her hands. "What did you need to talk about, Misao?" Misao could see the guys looking over at them, wondering what they were doing. "Hey Kaoru?! What are you doing over there?!" She heard Sano shout. "We'll be back in a few minutes, ok?!" Kaoru yelled back. "Okay!" Kaoru turned back to Misao. "Misao? Is everything ok?" Misao looked at her. "Why are you being so nice to me?" Kaoru was silent for a second before she answered. "Well, because I know that you don't want to get married to him, that it's against your will." Misao shook her head in confusion. "But you two love each other! I can see it whenever you look at him, when he looks at you. Doesn't it hurt?" She heard Kaoru take a deep breath and Misao looked at her. She was crying.  
"It hurts more than you will ever know. Every time I look at him my heart tears in two." The tears were building up at her chin and Misao watched as they fell to the ground. "How can you hang out with us, acting like everything is fine?" She watched as Kaoru's body shook with sobs. "Just, take care of him for me." With that Kaoru ran away, her hands over her face as she cried. Misao looked at the guys and they were all looking in the direction that Kaoru had run. Kenshin ran after her and Misao stopped him. She ran and caught up with him. "Let me go, ok? I'll bring her back." He nodded and Misao ran off after her. She found Kaoru huddled against a tree, crying. Misao sat down in front of her and made Kaoru look at her. "P-please just promise that you'll take care of him for me! H-his p-p-past still haunts him." Her whole body shook with sobs. "Take acre of him, since I can't." Misao grabbed her and hugged her hard, thinking. "No." Kaoru looked up at her. "What?" Misao looked at her. She shook her head. "I will not make that promise. I will not take care of him." Kaoru looked at her in confusion. "W-why not?" Misao smiled softly. "Because you will be the one to take care of him." Kaoru's eyes widened. "But, you are betrothed. How can I take care of him if you are his wife?" Misao shook her head.  
"Just trust me, ok? I couldn't bear it if I broke up a love like you and Kenshin have."  
  
Thank you for the reviews!!! Sorry there was no Aoshi in this chapter, but she IS grounded and I needed to have her talk with Kaoru. He will be in the next chapter. Trust me. 


	4. Chapter 4

[For some reason it will only let me read the first 2 reviews so if you wanna review email me, ok? lollipop_313_@hotmail.com   
  
Best Friends Forever  
  
Chapter 4  
  
Misao stood up, bringing Kaoru with her. She wiped away her new friend's tears and looked her in the eyes. She put both her hands on either side of Kaoru's face.  
"Okay. Go back to Kenshin and tell him I went home because I don't feel well or I have cramps or something. I'm going home to get ready to put this plan of mine into action..." Kaoru nodded and turned around, heading towards Kenshin.  
"And Kaoru?!" Misao yelled after her. Kaoru turned around and looked at her. Misao smiled. "Take good care of him." Kaoru nodded and walked back to Kenshin and the others. Misao started walking home. On the way she thought of her plan, finishing the few minor details that needed to be worked out.  
When she got home she went straight to her room and looked around. She opened her dresser drawers and started pulling clothes out, piling them on the floor. When she was done she went to her closet and did the same thing.  
She went out into the hallway and opened up the closet in there and grabbed two suitcases, bringing them into her room. She folded her clothes and put them into the suitcases. Then she went into the kitchen and grabbed the cookie jar. She opened it and grabbed all the money that was inside. She counted it and came up with 1,378 dollars. (That's in u.s. money.) That's enough to keep me up until I can find a job. Then she grabbed a piece of paper and wrote a note for her parents.  
  
Dear mom and Dad,  
Don't worry about me, ok? I just can't do this anymore. I won't marry Kenshin. Did you know that he has a girlfriend that loves him very much? And he loves her. By making us get married you will not only ruin my life, but his and his girlfriends as well. I'm leaving Tokyo. I won't tell you where I'm going; just that it will be far from here. I'll be fine, I promise. I'll get an apartment, get a job. Make new friends. Just... Don't come looking for me, ok? I'll come back when all of this is over.  
  
Love,  
  
Misao  
  
P.S. – I took all the money in the cookie jar. I'll pay you back.  
  
She put it on the fridge and held it there with a magnet. Then she grabbed her suitcases and went out the front door. She was going to Kyoto. She walked down the sidewalk, heading in the direction of the train station. About half way there she put down her suitcases and sat down on the curb. She put her head in her hands and cried. She cried for her parents who, in just a few hours, would wake up and see her note. By then she would be halfway to Kyoto. She hoped things would work out between Kaoru and Kenshin. She wiped her eyes and stood up, picking up her bags and started walking again. Every now and then she would start crying, but she didn't stop again. Every time a car drove past she would tense up, thinking her parents had somehow woken up early, went to get a drink or something, had seen her note and had come to get her. But the cars didn't stop. No one was interested in a 17 year-old girl walking by herself in the middle of the night. She arrived at the train station and went up to the counter. She didn't see anyone so she rang the little bell that they had on the counter and waited. When no one came she leaned over the counter and looked around. "Hello?! Is anybody there? Hello?!" She sighed and got back her own side of the counter. She looked around and, seeing no one was there, bowed her head. Then she heard movements in the backroom of the ticketbooth. She looked up and over the counter. "Hey!" She yelled. She waited and a short, fat man came out the door and looked at her. He shook his head. "What do you want?" Misao dug into her pack for enough money to buy her ticket. "A ticket to Kyoto, please." He nodded his head and went to a little box, bringing out a piece of paper. She gave him the 28$ for the ticket and looked at it. Kyoto ID#3576395378596 Time: 2:30am Cost: 28.00 One way trip No stops She looked back up at the man. "Is there a bathroom close by?" He nodded and pointed to her left. She looked up and saw the sign for the girl's bathroom. "Thank you." He turned around and went back into the room he came out of. She went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. Her eyes were all red and puffy from all the crying she did on the way over here. She turned on the water, making it cold. She washed her face and dried it with a towel that was hanging on the wall on the side of the sink. She walked out of the bathroom and up to the counter, looking at the clock that was on the wall. She had 10 minutes to wait. She looked around again, seeing there was a few more people then there was when she had been out here earlier. There was one man the kinda intrigued her. He kept his back to her and wore a long trench coat, and a scarf that hid his face. She sat down and gave the mysterious man no more thought. She put her head back on the wall and dozed off. She woke up when a lady nudged her. "Your trains here, young lady." Misao nodded and got up, stretching her arms over her head. She saw that the train was already there. She grabbed her ticket and got in line to board. The mysterious man stepped up behind her, but she was to busy trying to stay awake until she sat down to take any interest. She gave the man who was collecting the tickets hers and got on the train. She went to a compartment that was empty and sat down in a window seat. She leaned her head against the window and looked out. She closed her eyes. "Can I sit here?" She nodded, thinking how familiar that voice sounded. She decided to take a peek and opened one eye. "Aoshi!" She sat straight up in her seat, staring at her best friend. He smiled at her, a small, gentle smile. "What are you doing here, Aoshi? How did you find me?" She shot questions at him, not waiting for him to answer. He held up his hand, silently telling her to shut up. "Kaoru told Soujiro that you had some plan, one that would let her and Kenshin stay together. Soujiro called me and woke me up, worried. I am your best friend, Misao. I'm not stupid. I knew you were leaving somewhere on the train, since you don't have enough money for a plane. So I came here, and questioned the Ticket Master at the desk. He told me you had bought a ticket for Kyoto, so here I am." Misao nodded, trying to let all this information to sink in. "You can't make me go back, Aoshi. If I go back I will be in hell for the rest of my life." Aoshi nodded. "I'm not trying to make you go back. Quite the opposite, in fact." Misao gave him a confused look. "I'm going with you. What kind of best friend would I be if I just let you go off to some strange place all by yourself. Besides, I would hate myself if something happened to you and I had the power to stop it." Misao nodded and sighed. She laid her head down on his shoulder and closed her eyes. She felt him rest his head against hers and she fell asleep, just as the train started to leave the station. 


End file.
